The big 3 -- out of London, Sunday Sept 7

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Day 15, Sunday, Sept 7, London, England

So, I'm halfway thru this trip and feel like I'm starting to get the hang of this - but that's likely because I'm in an English-speaking country now and settled into one hotel for four nights - what a luxury. Trying to get caught up on my laundry for a clean start for the next tour - it's helps that there's actually an iron in this room (none on the continent) since clothes don't dry here very well on their own. Saw a laundromat today but it's a couple of miles away (not sure about distances yet, the way we jog around on the buses).

Had bkfst this morning with Melinda and Charlie whose son lives near Asheville - that was a pleasant start; they were leaving on their long Europe jaunt today. I had a day trip scheduled with Grayline Golden Tours, so sat around in lobby waiting to be picked up (I couldn't get the pay phone to work, so had to call them to confirm from the room, not looking forward to that bill). Then we had a bus ride to the coach terminal - semi-organized chaos, more being in a hurry to wait. Got on the bilingual coach, so everything was in English and Spanish from our very sprightly LOL guide (both meanings of that acronym) - she could have been straight out of Harry Potter or Dickens.

First stop was Windsor - about 45 minutes away, and a bit of a speedy hike up hill thru part of the town. We walked by Queen Mary's doll house (very large and detailed) and a lovely set of large French dolls with extensive wardrobes that had been presented to Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret on our way into the State Apts. Once again, felt rushed getting thru; there was an annoying wand-type audio, so didn't listen to much of it. Not allowed to take photos of course, so the castles and palaces are all getting jumbled up in my brain, altho I am enjoying each one as best I can, given the rushing. It was probably enough time, but I would have preferred to have more time here and less time at the other two stops. Anyway, more magnificent, etc. etc. furnishings, paintings, and architecture; bought the guidebook here as well, and wish it had more room photos and less history. Very glad I added this day, since I'm taking one of the few long bus tours that doesn't include Windsor. There are lots of shops and other things to see around Windsor so a lot more time here would be better (perhaps a day trip on the train).

Back to the bus for about another hour's drive to Stonehenge Inn for lunch; quite passable lunch with several choices (I had purchased mine included, other added it on route for L10, or 5 for a sandwich with fries); I had roast beef, yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, peas, carrots, cabbage, coffee and a bit of a tiny apple tart. Then onto Stonehenge itself - we were able to walk all the way around it, from a bit of a distance, but closer than I had expected. You could actually see it through a chain link fence, if you didn't get a ticket. It's quite impressive - it would even be interesting if it had been built in times with wheels and better tools; it's phenomenal to think about how it might have been done a few thousand years ago. The setting is quite pretty - low, rolling green hills; there's a bit of traffic noise, and many other people, but quite a pleasant visit really. I could imagine somewhat what it must be like to have been there for a ceremony, or to be there alone and be able to go into the center. Too many distractions today to get a good feeling of the energy from it. I took a lot of photos and didn't need to buy anything.

Back on the bus for another hour or so to Bath where we had a little too much time for me. Walked thru the Roman baths, which are interesting; there were a few costumed pretend Romans occasionally talking to people as though they were from those times (not recognizing cameras, countries, etc.) -- not as well done as the Plymouth living history people (this was more tongue in cheek). I found an electronics store and bought a couple more 2GB memory cards, since I haven't been able to save properly to flash drive, or get CDs/DVDs burned. Price not too bad (they were on sale) - just a little more than I've been paying at home - but now I have scads more cards than I usually need - hope they are usable for other things in years to come (but they'll get replaced by some other media I suppose). Found a shop that had Cornish pasties (hand-held pot pies, that are very hard to find in Americca unfortunately) and since we had a long drive back to London, I had a lamb, mint, potato pasty - nicely cooked and quite tasty (which does not rhyme with pasty). The handiest bathroom in the area is at the Roman Baths and Pump Room, but it closed up sharply at 5 (Sunday), so missed that chance. The pasty shop didn't have beer, tho, so I made it back to my hotel without a WC.

The bus dropped a lot of us near an Underground station, to make our own way back, so I had my first tube ride. I was surprised that it cost L4.00 just for one short trip - but picked up all the info and will get a day pass tomorrow that will be not much more than that for multiple trips. If I were using it more, I'd get an “Oyster” card, but I think day tickets will work out better for me.

Again, had really good luck for weather - some clouds and a little cool, but pleasant, and no rain - amazing. Very enjoyable day all told. Even tho there's some waiting, and some rushing, I think that paying the extra money for having someone else do the driving and make the arrangements is well worth it for this kind of trip. I think it's being more efficient overall and allowing me to see more than I might be able to do, if I were doing it on my own (and actually less stressful as well, even with occasional annoyances). Tomorrow I'm on my own with nothing prescheduled - so not going to set my alarm (altho there are several places I hope to get to).

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Photos

Stonehenge
To take a photo of the whole tihng ends up making it look small.

The Roman Baths
A couple of the ambiance actors.

One of Bath's pig statues
The story of how the healing waters was discovered involves pigs, so there are painted statues about town (remember the cows? and the donkeys and elephants in DC? and Grand Cayman has iguanas).